Foundation Awards $300,000 to Investigate Physical Therapy Referral

The Foundation for Physical Therapy
recently awarded a $300,000 high-impact research grant to Jean Mitchell, PhD,
to investigate the influence of physical therapy referral characteristics and
practices on quality, cost effectiveness, and utilization.

The purpose of Mitchell's project will
be to investigate the effects of physician self-referral arrangements on the
provision of physical therapy services. Data from multiple sources will be
analyzed to determine whether the initiation of physical therapy differs for
physicians who have established self-referral arrangements compared with those
who do not self-refer, whether the composition of physical therapy treatments
differs between these 2 groups, and whether there is a higher overall cost
associated with physical therapy self-referral arrangements.

Mitchell, a professor of public policy at
Georgetown University, received her PhD in economics from Vanderbilt
University. Her health policy research has been published in refereed journals
such as Health Affairs, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, and Medical
Care, and her work has been funded by sources such as the National
Institutes of Health National Institute on Aging.

This high-impact study focusing on a profession-deemed, high-priority
research area was made possible by funding from APTA and its Private Practice
Section, Orthopaedic Section, and Florida Chapter; the Institute of Private
Practice Physical Therapy; the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical
Therapists; Evidence in Motion; and the Physical Therapy Business
Alliance.